Breakdown of expenses
Program deposit
Spending money
Other advice related to financial concerns
Financial Aid: Scholarships, Fellowships, Grants and Awards

Breakdown of expenses

Tuition, Room and Board:  All Lafayette students who study abroad must pay Lafayette College’s Comprehensive Fee (tuition), plus the program’s fee for room and board (see below).  Students will be billed for these charges by Lafayette College, and Lafayette will then pay the study abroad program – students may not pay the program directly, except for the application fee and the required deposit.  A few of our approved programs are more expensive than Lafayette, and students are responsible for making up the difference in cost in those cases.

Any financial aid that a student receives for studying at Lafayette will automatically be applied to the study abroad program; financial aid is capped at Lafayette’s cost. For questions regarding financial aid please contact Jaime Baltz at 610-330-5056 or baltzj@lafayette.edu. Note that many of our affiliated programs also offer their own scholarships and aid packages; please consult each program's web site or brochure for more information.

Under normal conditions, international students may apply their financial aid to a study abroad experience for one semester. Exceptions will only be made in cases in which a student’s Lafayette curriculum requires additional study abroad.

The specific expenses included in the program cost vary from provider to provider, and can even vary among programs offered by a single provider. Please check your program's individual pricing policy to determine exactly which expenses are covered by the program and which are the responsibility of the student. In general, however, programs fall into one of several categories:

Faculty led programs (such as IUB Bremen, KNUST Ghana, and St. Lawrence Madrid): Tuition, room and board (on the basis of 20 meals/week) are the same as if the student were to attend Lafayette College.  Airfare, excursions, and ground transportation are included in the price.

Affiliated Programs Type A (such as Syracuse University, IES, Temple University, CC-CS, Sweet Briar in Paris, College Year in Athens, Macalester College in Berlin/Vienna, Heidelberg College in Heidelberg, and SIT): Lafayette tuition & host program room and partial board (7 breakfasts, 5-6 dinners) are charged, but students are responsible for their own airfare. 

Affiliated Programs Type B (such as Butler IFSA, Boston University, Alliance for Global Education, Bard Global): Lafayette tuition & host program room are charged, but meal arrangements are made on site and students are responsible for their own airfare.

Affiliated Programs Type C (such as St. Louis Madrid, American University Washington Semester, Waseda University Tokyo, Lingnan University Hong Kong): Lafayette tuition is charged, but students pay the host program directly for living accommodations and meal plans.  Students are responsible for their own airfare.

Airfare: Students who participate on Lafayette College faculty-led programs will have their airfare paid for by the college; students participating on other affiliated programs will generally have to pay for their own airfare.

Room and board: As previously mentioned, each program’s fee for room and board is added to Lafayette’s Comprehensive Fee (tuition), and the student is billed by Lafayette on behalf of the affiliated program.  Room and board fees vary greatly among programs, depending on the location of the program, the strength of the dollar with regard to the local currency, the type of lodging and number of meals provided, etc. Estimated costs are available from Ms. Maureen Banas in the Office of the Dean of the College (610-330-5918, or banasm@lafayette.edu).

Deposit: Students should pay the required deposit directly to the program; this charge will subsequently be deducted from your Lafayette College semester bill. Note that deposits are nonrefundable - should a student withdraw from a program for any reason, the deposit will be lost.

Miscellaneous expenses may include passport and visa application fees, textbooks, immunizations, special course fees (see below), personal expenses and optional travel.

Course fees: Please be advised that Saint Louis Madrid and Syracuse University programs charge additional fees for course materials, orientation programs, and/or course-related travel.  These costs can vary between $35 and $600. 

How much spending money should you take?

Although this really depends on your personal spending habits, you will probably spend more studying abroad than you would during the same period at home.  Common expenses include restaurants, cafés and bars, museum entry fees, souvenirs and gifts, and optional travel.  The best advice is to talk to other students who have been on your program, and ask them what they tended to spend money on. Remember that the US dollar is very weak right now compared to many other currencies.

Other advice regarding money and finances:

Take an emergency fund in cash ($100) when you are traveling; keep it securely stored in a neck pouch or money belt. It is better to take small bills (10s or 20s).

When traveling, debit cards are very convenient: ATMs are generally accessible 24/7, they make it unnecessary to carry large amounts of cash, and the money your receive from an ATM will be in the local currency, which means you avoid both the hassle and the fees associated with a currency exchange.

Call your credit card companies before you leave and let them know that you will be in Country X for the next four months as a precaution against having them assume your card was stolen once unexpected foreign charges start showing up on the account. If they assume the card has been compromised and cannot reach you for clarification (since you won't be at the regular contact number they have on file for you), they could freeze your account.

Make sure to have a list of customer service numbers to call in case any of your credit cards are stolen – you will want to cancel them immediately.  It is a good idea to leave this list with your parents as well, since it may be easier for them to make the calls from the US than for you to do so from abroad.

If you will be responsible for paying bills in the US while you are abroad, set up automatic debit or online payment options (through your bank, an online service, or the institutions you have to pay) before you leave.

Financial Aid

Any financial aid that a student receives for studying at Lafayette will automatically be applied to the study abroad program; the amount is capped at Lafayette’s cost. For questions regarding financial aid packages administered by Lafayette, please contact Jaime Baltz at 610-330-5056 or baltzj@lafayette.edu.

Under normal conditions, international students may apply their financial aid to a study abroad experience for one semester. Exceptions will only be made in cases in which a student’s Lafayette curriculum requires additional study abroad.

Many of our affiliated programs offer their own scholarships and aid packages; typically these range from $500 to $3000. Please consult each program's web site or brochure for more information.


Scholarships, fellowships, grants and awards:

• Lafayette awards one student per year the David A Portlock Study Abroad Memorial Prize. Each year one student receiving college-funded financial aid will be awarded this $500 prize; in 2007-08 the award will be made to a student studying abroad during the upcoming fall semester or full academic year, and in 2008-09 it will be awarded to a student going abroad the following spring semester. Applicants must be in good academic standing, and must write an essay explaining why they are interested in studying abroad, what they can bring to the experience, and what they hope to take away from the experience. The essay should be no more than two typed double-spaced pages. The selection of the candidate is made by the Off-Campus Study Committee, and the decision will be based on the candidate's essay, cumulative GPA, and major. Students interested in applying for the Portlock Prize should pick up the application from the Office of the Dean of the College in 1 Markle Hall, and return it by February 15, 2008 (for study abroad Fall 2008 or the entire 2008-2009 academic year), or October 15, 2008 (for study abroad Spring 2010).

There are also a number of prestigious and competitive external scholarships, fellowships and grants available to students who want to study abroad, including:

• DAAD - The German Academic Exchange Service offers scholarships and grants to undergraduates who wish to study in Germany during the academic year. Recipients will be awarded a monthly stipend of approximately € 615, plus additional funds to help defray travel and research expenses as well as health insurance.
  
  

• The National Security Education Program (NSEP) David L. Boren Undergraduate Scholarships focus on geographic areas, languages, and fields of study deemed critical to U.S. national security (including Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin American & the Caribbean, and the Middle East). The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are excluded. This program draws on a broad definition of national security, recognizing that the scope of national security has expanded to include not only the traditional concerns of protecting and promoting American well-being, but also the challenges of global society, including: sustainable development, environmental degradation, global disease and hunger, population growth and migration, and economic competitiveness. NOTE: Applicants for this scholarship must be officially endorsed by Lafayette College; please contact Dean Julia Goldberg if you would like to apply.
  
  

• Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarships The purpose of the Ambassadorial Scholarships program is to further international understanding and friendly relations among people of different countries and geographical areas. While abroad, scholars serve as goodwill ambassadors to the host country and give presentations about their homelands to Rotary clubs and other groups. Upon returning home, scholars share with Rotarians and others the experiences that led to a greater understanding of their host country. NOTE that the application deadline for Rotary scholarships can be more than 12 months in advance of the beginning of the program.
  
  

• Freeman-Asia Scholarships The primary goal of Freeman Awards for Study in Asia (Freeman-ASIA) is to increase the number of U.S. undergraduates who study in East and Southeast Asia, by providing them with the information and financial assistance they will need. Award recipients are expected to share their experiences with their home campuses to encourage study abroad in East and Southeast Asia by others, and to spread greater understanding of Asian peoples and cultures within their home communities. Award amounts are up to $3000 for summer programs, $5000 for semester programs, and $7000 for year-long programs.
  
  

• The National Italian American Foundation Scholarships for Study Abroad are for either Italian American students who demonstrate outstanding potential and high academic achievements (area of study is open), or students from any ethnic background majoring or minoring in Italian language, Italian studies, Italian American studies or a related field, who demonstrate outstanding potential and high academic achievements. Scholarship awards range from $2,500-$10,000.
  
  

• The Benjamin A Gilman International Scholarships provides awards for U.S. undergraduate students who are receiving federal Pell Grant funding at a 2-year or 4-year college or university to participate in study abroad programs worldwide. Awards are capped at $5000, and specific award amounts will vary depending on the length of study and student need (with the average award being $4,000). Students who apply for and receive the Gilman Scholarship to study abroad are now eligible to receive an additional $3,000 Critical Need Language Supplement from the Gilman Program for a total possible award of up to $8,000. (The "critical need" languages are Arabic, Chinese, Turkic, Persian, Indic, Korean and Russian.)